Monday, April 28, 2008

Low: I don't really have one. The best I can come up with from the last week is the feeling of waking up after 4 1/2 hours of sleep and a big 12 hour shift staring me in the face. I made it fine and did the same thing to myself again that night. I'll never learn.

High: Ummm....the whole week. :-) I have been one very distracted, giggly girl, spending every day this week with one incredible, godly guy. And the amazing part is, he thinks I'm pretty incredible too! Everyone else probably thinks I'm losing it, with me randomly smiling and giggling to myself, recounting events and/or sweet, memorable conversations. Life is funny. And I like it.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

High: Wednesday night:Campfire and s'mores with good friends and guitars. Come, summer, come.

Low: Sunday, all dayFeeling like a completely incompetent nurse. Orientation is a humbling experience. When I took the animal personality test with the entire Dept. of Nursing a few months ago, I was a strong owl. Owls like to be competent, efficient, visionary, and tend to be leaders and big idea people. Now I feel so incompetent it just eats away at me and any confidence I might have possessed before. And I'm having to be more beaver-ish (i.e. detail and list oriented) than I naturally am. I'm ready to just know what I'm doing without going through all this.

Monday, April 14, 2008

I don't remember ever NOT being able to read. I have no clue how to help someone who doesn't know how to read learn this all-important skill. At Friendship Place tonight, I was trying to help a non-native English speaker girl with some reading words. I laughed a lot, at her attempts at words and my own inadequacy in helping her. Here's how much of the night went.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Meet Dawson-a crazy, creative, hilarious guy who now lives in China. He moved to my city our junior year in high school. He taught me the beauty of being vulnerable and of persevering, and blessed me with his laugh and insight.

And there's Ben (pronounced "Bin"), aka Benfriend. We were together so much from the beginning of college on people thought we were a couple. But he was not my boyfriend, he was my Benfriend. He actually dated my best friend the first several weeks of college, they broke up, he vented to me, and we've been best friends ever since. There is no telling the amount of hours I have spent listening to him play his guitar or that we've spent listening to each other ramble on about life, philosophy, relationships, etc.

Nathan: a pillar of strength, a ready source of encouragement, and the keen ability to call at just the right time. He's committed to serve the Lord no matter where it takes him. So far that has included deep Mississippi, Nashville, inner city Little Rock, Mozambique, Kenya, and in the near future-Angola.

And last but not least, I'll mention Kent. A people person with a strong sense of commitment, a desire to help others, and the ability to show grace.

The crazy thing is it that I'm just scraping the tip of the iceberg when it comes to mentioning people who've had a significant impact on me. There are so many others, from elderly mentors to family to people I'm just now getting the privilege to know. I've truly been blessed.

Friday, April 11, 2008

I don't know what caused this, but waves of nostalgia have slammed me head-on several times this week. However it happened, I have been reminded over and over again of dear friends from the past and present who have changed my life and taught me countless lessons. If you're going to know me, you have to know these people. Even though some of them I won't talk to for months, they are all soul-mate type of people. Some have hurt me as only those close to you can. But I count myself blessed to have so many people who know me, still love me, and can understand the feelings and dreams with which I struggle to put words. And in my preliminary thoughts about this post, I can already tell it is going to be overwhelming, so consider this incomplete.

I'll start with the person I've probably known the longest.Mandy, aka Manders, someone who loves life just as much as anyone I know. We both moved to a new school at the beginning of second grade, and we've been best friends since then (except for a time in sixth grade when I was too cool for her. She forgave me for that).

Ashley and Holly, who will go together because I can hardly think of one without thinking of the other. They were my random assigned suite mates freshman year. Ashley has the pure heart of an angel, and Holly has the gift of understanding. I am so proud of both of them.

My life would be incomplete without Pryor 109. That is what Emily, Jenel, Jennifer and I called ourselves, because that was our suite we shared most of the last two years of my college time. We lived together a total of three years, and it was too much fun. I think we can give anyone a run for their money regarding the number of inside jokes one group of friends could share. We even had our own supporting cast (see below). We are all incredibly different, but we made a wonderful concoction when together. Jennifer displays how to love the simple things in life, and how to feel deeply for other people. She's the one mostly responsible for the way my life is headed now. Emily taught me how to always have a song in my heart. Jenel showed me determination and faith in overcoming obstacles. Every late night spent talking till 3am was worth it. These are the girls I can feel complete comfortable in saying, "Hey, you're driving me crazy right now" or "you're making stupid choices." These are the girls I can cry in front of and I can hold them while they cry. We can laugh for hours or sit in silence. I can't believe I live in MN now without them. And I miss them so bad it hurts.

I'll cover Meredith and Rebecca together too because I know they won't mind. We spent a summer together as interns in Honduras, and they both ended up being nurses too. They understand, if not helped create, the burden in my heart for the poor and marginalized in this world. They are both passionate and selfless, and I can't wait to see how this great adventure called life plays out for them.

I may not have known the meaning of grace until I met Amy Grace Greek. She is grace, personified, and aptly lives up to her name. She has a love for people to an extent I have rarely seen.

And nursing school would have been completely different without Jordan. I swear we are cut from the same cloth. She understands....everything. What a talented, creative woman.

Sunday, April 06, 2008

I am breaking the mold this week. It's Sunday, not my usual Monday update day. And nothing stands out enough from the past week to just pick one high and one low, so I think I'll do as many as I feel like. :-)

Highs:-Roughly 20 people crammed into my apartment enjoying pancakes and singing praises-being a support for a mom as she lamented the prior loss of her husband and the current trauma her son is enduring-seeing an elderly man's eyes light up when I enter the room and listening as he tells everyone who walks by how I am a princess-listening to a goosebump-producing lesson about what heaven might be like-powerful singing in church-looking at videos and pictures from Honduras and giggling excessively at the funny kids and encouraging stories, wondering in awe at the beautiful creation, being so grateful that good stuff is going on, and feeling so proud of my dear friends who are there-watching almost the entire Sunday school class play "Snake"-one-on-one time with beautiful Amy H.-being chased around the church by one of the cutest kids in Rochester

Lows:-having to revive a 4-month old three times in one shift-looking at videos and pictures from Honduras and aching to be there, intermittently brought to tears by the hopelessness, poverty, and ignorance in between my giggles at the funny kids.-I was going to put a few more lows, but they all seem petty after those two. I'll just leave it at that.

Friday, April 04, 2008

Today I had a tiny six-pounder in my hands when he went limp-no breath, no pulse. And later I had my hands encircling his entire chest giving compressions with my thumbs when I felt his heart kick back into life.